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The R36s were numbered 9524-9557. The R36s, very much like the R33s, were similar in that they sported drop-sash side windows, differentiating them from the large picture windows of the World's Fair cars. The cars are similar to the R33s because they were built from unfinished car body shells of the latter. Though the cars were originally delivered without air conditioning, all cars in this series received air conditioning as part of a retrofitting program in 1982.

The R36s ran on the IRT main lines (Broadway–Seventh Avenue and Lexington Avenue)-mainly on the 1 and 3-until their overhauls. After overhauls, they were transferred to the 7 from 1984 to 1988, and were transferred to the 6 from 1988 to 2001. During this time, some cars also provided occasional service on the 4 route, which occasionally uses equipment borrowed from the 6.

In 1998, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced that it would begin phasing out the last Redbird cars (R26, R28, R29, R33, R36) with the R142 and R142A cars. The R36s were then returned to the 7 before being retired and replaced by the R142As by 2003. The last R36 pair, 9542-9543, ran on the 7 until August 2003.

With the arrival of the R142As on the 6, the R36s were transferred over to the 7, after which, the cars were slowly retired. After retirement, all but one pair of cars (two cars) were stripped and sunk as artificial reefs. The only pair that remains today is 9542-9543, which has been held for the New York Transit Museum since 2004.[1][2] This pair is currently stored at the 207th Street Yard, awaiting restoration.[a]